Rylie Horrall |  Lifestyle Editor

Many restaurants have been forced to close temporarily or permanently due to the world’s current state. Because of this, many people may find themselves longing for their favorite foods from these establishments, but unable to obtain any due to the closures and social distancing. Luckily, multiple websites are providing copycat recipes for people to attempt to make their favorites from the comfort of their homes.

One restaurant that is closing for good is Sweet Tomatoes — also referred to as Souplantation in other states. This one hits pretty close to home for me, as this was an eatery my friends and I frequented often before COVID-19, so I was happy to learn that their website, souplantation.com, has recipes for many of their buffet dishes. For instance, a full list of instructions can be found for their popular seasonal Chicken Pot Pie Stew, which is packed with roasted chicken, red potatoes, mushrooms, celery, pearl onions, green peas and carrots in a creamy base. Other soups and stews can be found under their ‘Souplantation Recipes’ in addition to other beloved favorites of the establishment.

For Chick-Fil-A lovers, there are a few recipes that can be found to recreate their sandwiches and various chicken meals. On damndelicious.net, the full recipe for a Chick-Fil-A sandwich for two can be found; to recreate the taste, a person needs to marinate a chicken breast in pickle juice for 30 minutes before coating it in milk, egg, flour and powdered sugar and frying it up. The same website also provides a link to a recipe for Chick-Fil-A nuggets.

In the interest of those craving something sweet while stuck at home, the-girl-who-ate-everything.com posted a recipe for Cinnabon’s famous cinnamon rolls. The copycat recipe recommends making the dough for the rolls the night before and letting them rise on the counter overnight, and to change the amount of cinnamon in the recipe if the 2 ½ tablespoons would be too intense. Moreover, it says to pour the icing over the cinnamon rolls while they’re still hot so the icing seeps into the roll, then to add more once they have cooled down.

Finally, for Disney enthusiasts who are missing the park, a few have taken to recreating the famous Dole Whip sweet treat. On homemadehooplah.com, it states it can be made using coconut milk, sugar, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and, of course, pineapple chunks — preferably Dole brand, but any works. Once it’s all blended together, it can be dished up in a glass and eaten with a spoon or sipped through a straw.

Contact the author at rhorrall17@wou.edu

Photo by Rylie Horrall